The Frisian Solar Challenge is the biggest sustainable boating event in the Netherlands. The event focuses on the design and construction of ultra-light and fast solar boats, which have to be strong enough to endure the hardship of a long-distance race (220km) past the 11 famous Frisian cities.

Solarboat

This year, the race will be run from July 8-14 and the expectations of the Vripack Solar Team are immense. After a promising outcome in their last campaign, the team is even more focused on a victory in the A classification. Joost Mertens, captain of the team, said: “In 2010 we finished second with our boat ‘Sunny Side Up II’. Back then, we were mainly focused on the design and techniques of the boat. This year, we have paid much more attention to the technical development and improvement. That is why we believe that our solar boat is going to be one of the contenders again.”

The Vripack Solar Team is working on the development of improved techniques together with its sponsor ‘Whisper Power’. An example of this is the propulsion system, which is driven by a permanent magnet motor. The energy for the motor comes from a battery which itself is powered by four large solar panels, enabling the boat to reach speeds of up to 24 knots.

Vripack’s naval architects and designers have also studied the performance of various hull models with their custom-built drag machine and the new hull, built by Epomat, is not just extremely light in weight but also very efficient in its use of the available power. For more information, visit www.vripacksolar.nl.

Written by: Alex Smith
Alex Smith is a journalist, copywriter and magazine editor with a long history in boating and a happy addiction to the water. He’s worked on boats, lived on boats, bought boats, sold boats and – when he’s not actually on board a boat – he can generally be found in his Folkestone office, tapping away at the computer and gazing out to sea.
Advertisement